Telephone Box
For the last two and a half years or so work has been steadily progressing on providing telecommunications services for the LWR.
The majority of the equipment comes from the Grimsby BT museum, which closed in 2003. The various displays and items of equipment were either sent to the central BT museum or distributed to museums local to Grimsby. Key items were however put into storage and the offer made to provide some telecommunications facilities for the LWR, as it would have been in the 1950’s.
The initial and possibly most obvious item of equipment to be erected was the red kiosk, which has been sited on the platform at Ludborough station.
The kiosk is what is known as a standard Post Office kiosk Number 6. It was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott and approved by the Fine Arts Commission. It is constructed from eighteen cast-iron parts and when complete its total weight is some 13 cwt. This particular kiosk was sand blasted some years ago to remove all loose and flaky paint. When delivered to site it was wire brushed and coated with 3 coats of metal primer. This was followed up with three coats of undercoat, and once erected on site, four coats of the typical Post Office red put on. The only concession to modernity has been the use of glazing frames and silicon sealant rather than putty to hold the glass panes in position.
The kiosk represents the 1950’s and therefore the operating mechanism had to be of the push button ‘A’ and ‘B’ type. Fortunately this was available although without the correct backboard for it to be mounted on. The backboard was duly made and painted high gloss black, like the original. The top part of the board was available and the correct wording for the instructions displayed on the left hand side, obtained from the BT museum at Bromsgrove. The advert for the right hand side was taken from an old GPO publication and enlarged on a Computer. At this point in time we require a relatively minor part of the mechanism and hope to acquire it later in the year. The kiosk will then have been returned to its former glory.
Obviously to work properly the kiosk needs an old style telephone exchange to work too. This is currently being installed in the bottom of the signal box. The exchange is one recovered from Horsington and was the last of its type to be in service in the old Lincoln Telephone Area. Known as a Unit Automatic Exchange (UAX) 12 it was manufactured in 1949, although the design dates from the 1930’s. Capable of providing telephone service to 100 customers this particular one will be limited to 50 only, due to space limitations. The exchange is now undergoing a test programme and will have the first telephone lines connected by the start of the running season in March.
The telephones to be connected will again be in keeping with the 1950’s. Where visitors go they will be of the old black bakelite type, known as telephones 232 and 332’s, these were a common sight throughout the period from 1930 to 1960. In the non-visited areas they will be of the more modern variety.
Possibly the hardest part of the whole project remains to be completed and that is the provision of cable between the telephone exchange and wherever telephone service is required. The cabling in the immediate locality of Ludborough itself has been completed and a means of providing a cable to North Thoresby found. Work will shortly be starting on this aspect allowing telephones to be provided at the Home and Distant signals on the approach to Ludborough station.
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